Honors Student Grants
First-Year Honors Mentor Program Grant
Grants up to $250 (individual) or $500 (group) are available to support research expenses incurred by students participating in the First-Year Honors Mentor Program. Requests for funds are made jointly by student(s) and mentor.
Application deadline: Thursday, February 10, 2022
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria, funding policies, and application and award procedures
Excel (.xls) file to be completed electronically and submitted via CyBox; additional instructions are provided on the form and in the information and guidelines
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Liya Mooradian, Genetics (LAS)
Faculty mentor: Silvina Arias – Plant Pathology and Microbiology
Project name: Validation study of a Real Time PCR method for the detection of Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii in maize seeds
Kacy Oberbroeckling, Biology (LAS)
Faculty mentor: Silvina Arias – Plant Pathology and Microbiology
Project name: Seedling Pathogens in the Soybean Production Cycle: Management and Communication
Carter Casey, Biology (LAS)
Faculty mentor: Gwyn Beattie – Plant Pathology
Project name: Osmotic stress tolerance of phytopathogenic Serratia marcescens
Roman Combs, Microbiology
Faculty mentor: Nicolas Delchier – Food Science & Human Nutrition
Project name: B-Vitamins content in legumes and their reactivity during food processing
Bree Beyer, Genetics (LAS)
Jaden Brand, Chemical Engineering
Zachary Rapoza, Computer Engineering
Faculty mentor: Karri Haen – Genetics/Development & Cell Biology - Agls
Project name: 3D Printable Prosthetic Devices
Alex Bray, Microbiology
Faculty mentor: Larry Halverson – Plant Pathology and Microbiology
Project name: Interrogating the maize rhizosphere using a synthetic community
Kylie McGlade, Agronomy
Faculty mentor: Thomas Lubberstedt – Agronomy
Project name: Bud 3.2 Haploid Evaluation
Zach Harvey, Environmental Science (AGLS)
Faculty mentor: Fally Masambuka-Kanchewa – Agricultural Education & Studies
Project name: Exploring Undergraduate students’ agricultural information seeking behaviors
Morgan Farnham, Dietetics (H Sci)
Faculty mentor: Fally Masambuka-Kanchewa – Agricultural Education & Studies
Project name: Impact of agricultural information sources among dietetic students on their dietary preferences
Sydney Pottebaum, Open Option (LAS)
Kristen Hoss, Environmental Science (AGLS)
Faculty mentor: Marshall McDaniel – Agronomy
Project name: Managing Soils and Plants for Enhanced Agroeconomy Services
Julia Marks, Genetics (AGLS)
Kelsa Heseltine, Microbiology
Evan Bollinger, Biochemistry (AGLS)
Faculty mentor: Melha Mellata – Food Science & Human Nutrition - Agls
Project name: Molecular Regulation of Bacterial Horizontal Gene Transfer
Callan Randall, Food Science (H Sci)
Arann Raven, Biology (AGLS)
Jessica Fuertes De Arcos, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Aubrey Mendonca – Food Science & Human Nutrition - Agls
Project name: Improving the microbial safety or raw pineapple juice using an essential oil and cold plasma
Sophia Schmidt, Horticulture
Faculty mentor: Ajay Nair – Horticulture
Project name: Identifying Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms in Vegetable (Tomato) Transplants.
Teju Malli, Microbiology
Kasey Kropp, Biology (AGLS)
Faculty mentor: Nicholas Peters – Plant Pathology and Microbiology
Project name: Phage discovery and Science Bound Outreach
Katherine Sanow, Chemistry
Faculty mentor: Aude Watrelot – Food Science & Human Nutrition
Project name: Color Stability of model wine solutions
Ivy College of Business
College of Design
Rosie Becicka, Pre Architecture
Sage Cochran, Pre Architecture
Faculty mentor: Raluca Lancu – Art and Visual Culture
Project name: Integrating the new with the old: 3D printing and laser cutting with letterpress
Grier Wheaton, Pre-Industrial Design
Faculty mentor: Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness – Industrial Design
Project name: Exploring Sketchnoting as a Methodology for Class Reflection
College of Engineering
Karthik Prasath, Aerospace Engineering
Sam Hansen, Aerospace Engineering
Sean Mulcrone, Mechanical Engineering
Matthew Dorang, Mathematics
Paco Pratas Glycerio de Freitas, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Timothy Bigelow – Electrical Engineering
Project name: Bio-Inspired Reduction of EMI in PCB Lines
Max Rohrer, Computer Science
Ben Hollis, Animal Science
Harper Clark, Biology (LAS)
Erin McPike, Biology (AGLS)
Faculty mentor: Timothy Bigelow – Electrical Engineering
Project name: Ultrasound Enhanced Wound Healing
Joran Brensdal, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Eric Cochran – Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Unsaturated Diacids for the Synthesis of Bio-Enhanced Nylon 6,6
Peter Guzman, Industrial Engineering
Faculty mentor: Todd Kingston – Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Fabrication and Characterization of Microfluidic Devices
Damian Pyrdol, Aerospace Engineering
Jackson Collins, Aerospace Engineering
Faculty mentor: Dae-Young Lee – Aerospace Engineering
Project name: The Floating Atitude Control Test System
Sarah Pierce, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sonal Padalker – Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Detection of copper ions in water and study their influence on plant grow in hydroponic system
Matt Graeve, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Siddhartha Pathak – Materials Science & Engineering
Project name: Nanomechanical Study and Characterization on MAX phase Materials
Nick Oldham, Materials Engineering
Soren Hellyer, Materials Engineering
Faculty mentor: Siddhartha Pathak – Materials Science & Engineering
Project name: Studying the Effect of Cryo temperature on the Properties of the Solder Joints for In-Space Applications
Gabe Cook, Environmental Engineering
Nathan Pearson, Civil Engineering
Faculty mentor: Cassandra Rutherford – Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Project name: Development and Testing of Novel Tilt Table Testing Device for Measuring Soil Friction Angle
Caden Otis, Electrical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Jiming Song – Electrical And Computer Engineering
Project name: Electromagnetic sensors and modeling
Ryan Casey, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sri Sritharan – Civil Engineering
Project name: Evaluating the Benefits of Tall Wind Towers in the US
Claire Schneider, Civil Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sri Sritharan – Civil Engineering
Project name: Environmental Assessment of Tall Wind Towers
Keith Friestad, Mechanical Engineering
Jake Winters, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Brian Steward – Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering
Project name: Exploring Magnetic Arrary Filtration Performance on Contaminated Hydraulic Oil
Sean Kelly, Industrial Engineering
Faculty mentor: Peter Taylor – Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
Project name: Effect of sample thickness on concrete sorption measurementHydrated cement paste is known to absorb water, a property that can be assessed in a standard test ASTM C 1585. What is not clear is the effect of sample thickness on the test results. The work w
Lucy Gates, Aerospace Engineering
Colin Sears, Aerospace Engineering
Faculty mentor: Hartanto Wibowo – Civil, Construction & Environmental Eng
Project name: Physical Models as Teaching Tools for Engineering Statics
Lauren Blair, Civil Engineering
Vy Phan, Civil Engineering
Faculty mentor: Hartanto Wibowo – Civil, Construction & Environmental Eng
Project name: Flexural Tests of Concrete Beams Reinforced with Shape Memory Alloys
College of Human Sciences
Morgan Simms, Pre Architecture
Avery TeSelle, Pre Architecture
Faculty mentor: Rachel Eike – Apparel, Events, & Hospitality Managemen
Project name: Sustainability in Shredding Textiles
Shane Zenk, Pre-Industrial Design
Faculty mentor: Rachel Eike – Apparel, Events, & Hospitality Managemen
Project name: Design and Reliability of TENS Embroidered Electrodes
Luke Richard, Industrial Engineering
Faculty mentor: Rui Li – Apparel Merchandising and Design
Project name: Performance improvement of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers
Muhayimana Benigne, Dietetics (H Sci)
Alissa Hoover, Kinesiology & Health
Ellie McCombs, Pre Diet & Exercise (H Sci)
Kylie Petersen, Pre Diet & Exercise (H Sci)
Maiya Schminkey, Kinesiology & Health
Ava Spinner, Kinesiology & Health
Faculty mentor: E. Andrew Pitchford – Kinesiology
Project name: Relationships between obesity, bone density, and lifestyle factors in adults with intellectual disabilities
Makayla Dove, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology
Kenzie Sanden, Genetics (AGLS)
Faculty mentor: Qian Wang – Food Science & Human Nutrition - H Sci
Project name: CRISPR gene editing of HEK 293 cells
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Katelyn Squires,
Atlas Cahill,
Rebecca Dinslage,
Faculty mentor: Gloria Betcher – English
Project name: Mapping the BIPOC ISC Student Housing Experience to 1950
Daniel Hollinger, Chemistry
Faculty mentor: Kirill Kovnir – Chemistry
Project name: Exploratory Synthesis of Novel Ba-Cu-Mn-P Phases
Jessie Cheung, Pre- Interior Design
Rachel Kramer, Design Undeclared
Faculty mentor: Maggie LaWare – English
Project name: Pandemic Murals
Bridget McGovern, Biology (LAS)
Ellie Lentz, Genetics (AGLS)
Isabella Lein, Biology (LAS)
Rachel Currant, Genetics (AGLS)
Faculty mentor: Donald Sakaguchi – Genetics, Development & Cell Biology – LAS
Project name: Biocompatibility of Polymer Scaffolds for Growth and Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells
Charlotte Barnes, Biology (LAS)
Brooklyn Elwood, Microbiology
Isabella Jaspering, Biology (LAS)
Faculty mentor: Rahul Nelli – Vet Diagnostic & Production Animal Med
Project name: Distribution of Coronavirus receptors in one livestock species
Grace Helle,
Connor Kirk,
Isabelle Von Seggern,
Faculty mentor: Nubia Resende-de-Macedo – Vet Diagnostic & Production Animal Med
Project name: Optimization of an antimicrobial susceptibility test for Mycoplasma bovis
Mentor grant recipients from previous years are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
University Honors Program Grants
Grants of up to $750 are available to help cover project expenses for Honors capstone projects.
Application deadlines:
Fall: October 13 and November 10
Spring: February 9 and March 30
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
University Honors Program Grant application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures
Ally Abel
Faculty mentor: Roxanne Ziman - AVC/Biomedical
Project name: 3D Models as a Tool for Learning Dogfish Shark Anatomy: An Analysis of Student Satisfaction
Adam Eichorn
Faculty mentor: Shan Jiang - Materials Science & Engineering
Project name: Influence of pH on Viscosity and Stability of BaTiO3 Nano Ink
Seth Harbecke
Faculty mentor: Kathleen Delate - Horticulture
Project name: Simple Sugar-Based Fertilizer Impacts on Corn Growth and Nutrient Content
Karly Jans
Faculty mentor: Michael Rentz - Natural Resource Ecology and Management
Project name: Investigating Job Satisfaction in Iowa Veterinary Clinics
Gregory Ling
Faculty mentor: Nathan Neihart - Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project name: Compute Module Tester
Diana Mulder
Faculty mentor: Leonor Leandro - Plant Pathology
Project name: Verification of a qPCR Assay for Detection of Phialophora gregata in varied Soybean Tissues and Brown stem rot suspect samples
Sydney Pantini
Faculty mentor: Sekar Raju - Management and Marketing
Project name: Warmth and Competence: A Comparison between Virtual Assistants and Humans
Pauline Scribano
Faculty mentor: Kevin Schalinske - Food Science and Human Nutrition
Project name: Construction of Fire-Safe System for Bioelectric Control Methodology
Sura Smadi
Faculty mentor: Elizabeth Stegemoller - Kinesiology
Project name: Salivary Cortisol Levels in Marching Band Members Before and After Rehearsal
Jack Strait
Faculty mentor: Andrew Gleeson - Architecture
Project name: Abstraction and Interactivity: An Exercise in Design Representation
Previous UHP grant recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Stewart Research Award
Grants of up to $750 are available to help cover project expenses for Honors capstone and other research projects. Preference for these awards will be given to research that is likely to result in a student-authored or coauthored publication.
Application deadlines:
Fall: November 10
Spring (funds permitting): February 9
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
Stewart Research Award application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures.
Bennet Fate
Faculty mentor: Leonor Leandro - Plant Pathology
Project name: Investigating the Effect of Different Biochars in Controlling Seedling Root Rot in Soybean Plants Inoculated with Pythium sylvaticum
Arann Raven
Faculty mentor: Matthew Hill - World Languages and Cultures
Project name: An Examination of the Research History of Mylohyus nasutus
Previous Stewart Award recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Honors Student Enrichment Grant
Grants of up to $300 are available to help cover travel and/or registration expenses to present research at a national conference, or expenses related to the preparation of a manuscript for publication. Preference will be given to students presenting at an academic or professional conference.
Application deadlines:
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, funds permitting. Once all funding has been allocated for a given academic semester, the website will be updated and no additional applications will be accepted until the following semester.
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
Student Enrichment Grant application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures
Darcy Bonds, Horticulture - Attending ASABE annual conference in Houston, TX
Faculty mentor: Jacek Koziel
Project name: Can soil smell tell us more soil condition and soil health-promoting practices?
Jazmine Edwards, Event Management - Attending Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Conferences for Researchers, Educators, Practitioners, and Students
Faculty mentor: SoJung Lee
Project name: Club members' Value Co-creation: Group Identity, Psychological Ownership, and Satisfaction
Julianna Hernandez, Animal Exology - Attending National Conference on Undergraduate Research
Faculty mentor: Amy Toth
Project name: How Does Octopamine Affect Aggression in the Social Wasp Polistes metricus?
Jace Leininger, Kinesiology and Health - Attending the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity conference
Faculty mentor: Spyridoula Vazou
Project name: Childhood Physical Activity Experiences and Affective Attitudes During Adulthood
Ben Litterer, Data Science - Travel for 2022 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting
Faculty mentor: Robert Jernigan
Project name: An Improved Computational Approach to Predict HIV Protein Functions
Benji Pellizzari, Business Analytics - Attending Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Conferences for Researchers, Educators, Practitioners, and Students
Faculty mentor: SoJung Lee
Project name: Club members' Value Co-creation: Group Identity, Psychological Ownership, and Satisfaction
Danielle Robinson, English - Attending National Conference on Undergraduate Research
Faculty mentor: Linda Shenk
Project name: Co-Creating Knowledge: How Narrative Gaps Give Space For Collaborative Play
Isaiah Sents, Apparel, Merchandising & Design - Fees associated with the publication of his co-authored article in the journal FASHION THEORY
Faculty mentor: Kelly Reddy-Best
Project name: Des Moines Gay Men's Chorus, Queer Spaces, Collective Styles, and Activist Dress, 1984-Present
Henry Thomas, Chemistry - Attending National Conference on Undergraduate Research
Faculty mentor: Wenyu Huang
Project name: Method Optimization for the Synthesis of Novel Covalent Organic Frameworks
Previous Student Enrichment Grant recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Dr. Robert M. Melampy Grant
A Grant of up to $500 is available to students in Animal Science to help cover project expenses related to the research they are doing within their field of study. Preference will be given to students participating in the First-Year Honors Mentor Program, and only one Melampy Grant will be awarded each year for a Spring or Summer term. View a sample application here.
Application deadline: Thursday, February 10, 2022
Online application form: Melampy Grant application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures.
Rebecca Burns
Rebecca Burns has been involved with the Honors Program since her freshman year at Iowa State. Her interest in undergraduate research began when she had the opportunity to participate in the First-Year Honors Mentor Program. She assisted in a study using a group of antibiotic-resistant bacteria called ESKAPE pathogens under the mentorship of Dr. Bryan Bellaire and Nathan Peroutka-Bigus in the Veterinary Microbiology department.
In Spring 2021, Rebecca began conducting undergraduate research in Dairy Cattle Nutrition under the mentorship of Dr. Ranga Appuhamy. Her projects with Dr. Appuhamy have included studying the effect of zinc on anabolic signals in bovine mammary epithelial cells and her current Capstone project, where she is evaluating the role of energy substrate availability on the intestinal epithelial integrity of newborn calves. The findings of this study will help develop nutritional strategies to improve the gut and general health of young calves while replacing antibiotic use.
Previous Melampy Award recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Chi-Wai Ho Principles of Community Awards
Grants are available to help fund research or activities that promote understanding and mutual respect among people of different races, backgrounds, and experiences. Projects that have tangible or measurable results and have the potential for a recurring impact will be prioritized.
Application deadlines:
Fall: October 13 and November 10
Spring: Febuary 9 and March 30
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
Application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures.
Atlas Cahill, Rebecca Dinslage, Katelyn Squiers
Faculty mentor: Gloria Betcher - English
Project name: "Mapping the BIPOC ISC Student Housing Experience to 1950
Grant Recipient Archive
First-Year Honors Mentor Program Grant (2019– )
University Honors Program Grant (2005– )
Stewart Research Award (2005– )
Honors Student Enrichment Grant (2018– )
Dr. Robert M. Melampy Grant (2019– )
Chi-Wai Ho Principles of Community Award